"Unless one looks upon death as a thing that is very near and might happen at any moment, one will not be aware of the Self. This means that the ego must die, must vanish, along with the inherent vasanas. If the ego vanishes thus, the Self will shine as the luminous Self. Such people will be on a high spiritual plane, free from births and deaths.”
(Bhagavan in 'Letters from Sri Ramanasramam' 141)
Only that person who does not carry the previous moment to this moment, is free from everything.
The more importance we give our personality, the more we shackle ourselves to the influence of the past. Sadhguru tells us if we can leave this burden aside, we can pass through life and death effortlessly.
Sadhguru: Right now, whatever you call as “myself” is simply a certain type of information in your mind that you have collected. When you say, “I’m a good person,” “I’m a bad person,” “I am haughty,” “I am meek,” or whatever, these are simply certain formations of the mind. In other words, this is past accumulation – you are simply living through your past. If the past is taken away, most people are just lost. Everything depends on the past for them. The personality belongs to the past. So as long as the personality is important, it simply means the previous moment rules everything. The present moment is no longer important.
The personality that you carry is a dead thing. You cannot walk very far when you carry a dead body over your shoulders. And you can only head towards the burial ground. If you carry a dead body for too long, you will have to bear with terrible smells. The stronger your personality is, the more odoriferous it is.
Leaving the Past Behind
You can go far in life only when you can leave your past. This is like a snake shedding its skin. One moment it is a part of the body, the next moment it is shed and the snake goes on without turning back. If every moment, one is like a snake leaving the skin behind, only then there is growth. When a person does not carry the burden of the past, he is a truly sinless person. Being sinless does not mean that he did not do anything with his life. That would mean being a dead person. He did everything a person could possibly do to know life, but his actions never left any residue, nor did he build a personality out of the actions he performed.
Have you heard of Suka? He was Vyasa’s son. Suka was a pure being, a truly sinless being. There was a particular incident that happened in his life. One day, he was walking by himself in the forest, naked. As he was walking by, there was a lake where a few jala kanyas or nymphs were bathing. As they were by themselves in the forest, all the women were bathing together naked and playing in the water. Suka came upon the lake, looked at them, and just walked by. The women were not ashamed, nor did they try to hide themselves. They just continued their play. Suka walked off.
While looking for Suka, his father Vyasa came after him. He was over seventy years of age, an old man, and a great saint. He also came by the lake while following Suka. When the women saw him, they immediately rushed for their clothes. Vyasa asked them, “I am an old person, and I am dressed properly. Whereas my son is young and naked at that. When he came near you, you were not disturbed, but when I came, you are acting like this. Why?” They said, “He carries no sexual identification. We did not feel anything. He is just like a child.”
Only that person who does not carry the previous moment to this moment, is free from everything. And that quality will be felt everywhere. Within a few moments of meeting you, people will trust you to the extent that they would not even trust their parents, husbands or wives, simply because you don’t carry the burden of the past with you.
Odor Begone!
If you carry the past with you, then you also smell like anybody else. The whole world stinks with personalities. Everybody has his own strong smell or personality. These are the various stenches in the world, and they keep clashing all the time. All your anger, hatred, jealousy, fear – everything is based in the past. The moment you carry the past and future, you become a real ass, because the burden is such. There is no way anybody can live his life intelligently carrying that burden.
When one does not carry this odor, one can cross over this existence. This person crosses the ocean of samsara without any effort. What looks like a great effort for somebody else will be happening for this person without any effort. One not only passes through this world effortlessly, one will pass through the very process of life and death effortlessly.
- See more at: http://www.sadhguruonline.com/blog/shedding-the-burden-of-the-past#sthash.PF1EAIz7.dpuf
How long should I meditate to get enlightened?
There is no limit. Time will do it. Your job is to keep the window open, but time will bring the sunlight in. You can’t make sunlight come into your home just because you have opened the window. You can’t say, “I opened the window, but the sunlight has not come yet.” If you keep your shutters on, even if the sun has risen, you will remain in darkness. So your effort is needed.
Can married couples also attain enlightenment?
See, the example of Ramakrishna Paramahamsaji. He was married, Sharada Devi was his wife. There are many such examples like this. So even couples can attain enlightenment. Enlightenment is not something that just drops from somewhere. It is present in all of us.
If the purpose of life is to attain liberation, is there any value for all the time we spend on our education, profession and career?
Each one has its own place. You need to do both. To make a living, you need to work, and to grow on the spiritual path, you need to meditate. Both go together, they do not oppose each other.
Often, we think that only when we leave everything will we be able to meditate here, that is not the case. We see many people who have left everything and sit here, but they take up something else to occupy their mind.
It is not necessary that you have to leave everything, and then meditate.
If you have taken up some responsibility, fulfill it.
Gurudev, Is enlightenment just a realization?
Yes, that is why it’s called Pratya Bhigya which means Realizing.
See the elephant that is here does not know its power. With great love, he holds your hand with his trunk and pulls you. He doesn’t know that he can break the person’s hand whom he is pulling. For him it’s a play. In the same way, we do not realize our inner potential. We think we are just this body mind complex with a few emotions, some little thoughts, little likes and dislikes. The truth is that we are much beyond these things, and that is why enlightenment is like the peeling of it.
The word enlightenment is used so many times, that is why it is so confusing. Enlightenment is simply the peeling off layers and becoming hollow and empty. Get to that spot where you feel absolute comfort and absolute freedom. That is liberation, that isnirvana, that is self-realization, that is yoga, and that is unity. You can call it by so many names. And too much reading also confuses you about it. That’s why I say be natural, be simple
We are all on the path towards enlightenment. If we do not achieve it this lifetime, do we pick up from where we left off?
Yes, correct.
What is enlightenment? How does a regular person find out if someone is enlightened?
It cannot be said in words, it has to be felt. You cannot describe love. You can’t say that love is endorphins or oxytocin getting produced in your body, it is something that only the heart can know; your existence can feel something different. The funniest thing is that it is in everybody, it is in the original nature of our being and everybody has it, but it has not been uncovered.
Have you seen anyone in The Art of Living get enlightenment?
Yes, there are many who have this experience — they feel something and it starts happening. They have the ability to love everyone and be a nobody.
You don’t have to label yourself that ‘I am enlightened, I am enlightened’, not at all! If you want enlightenment, the first thing you need to remember is total detachment from all that you see, good or bad. Do you still want enlightenment? Are you ready for it? For enlightenment you need to have total detachment because it is your desire which is the only thing that blocks you from enlightenment. The moment you drop all that and say, “I want nothing and I am nothing”, that moment you realize that all the forms and names are nothing, they are all like waves in the ocean; the wave is nothing but the ocean. This conviction is enlightenment. The sea is there, the sun is there, the moon is there and like that I too am here, that is it. Going beyond time is enlightenment. Not being constrained by space is enlightenment. Realizing you are love, everything else is love, that is enlightenment. Being so natural and feeling at home with everyone because there is no other, is enlightenment.
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